Visitors to Bathurst for last weekend's NRL have taken home memories of a bitterly cold night.

Most properties are really short of any sort of standing stock feed, but producers who sowed an early fodder crop are close to having some green feed for sheep.

Hats off to William Bravenboer for his crop of early sown oats on Gormans Hill Road, Mount Tamar that is close to a sheep grazing stage.

THE widespread rain last weekend on the tablelands worked out at 15 to 25 millimetres across our district, with heavy storm rain causing moderate flooding in the Talbragar and Castlereagh rivers.

This follow-up rain has given croppers a chance to sow cereal and fodder crops and hope that useful rain will continue through winter and spring.

The partial autumn break has given a welcome lift to auction markets for beef, mutton and lamb and must have been a real help to the weaner cattle sale at CTLX at Carcoar last Friday.

This sale is a credit to agents and breeders and it is a highlight of the country autumn calendar.

REPORTS of light snow at Gingkin and Black Springs last Sunday have capped off a wild and windy weekend on the high country and hand-feeding of livestock on many properties will continue until some sort of crop or pasture responds to recent rain.

Meanwhile, the Buy A Bale program continues to assist farmers who need a hand, as do the Hay Runners and other charitable helpers.

BATHURST Merino Association has bedded down the 17 teams that are competing in its current wether trial.

Each team comprises 15 wether weaners that will run as a mob of 255 sheep on a property at Georges Plains.

Very few locals have ever changed their sheep breeding bloodlines because of wether trial results. Few want to breed the really heavy wool cutters that win many trials and the dual purpose types often produce a type of wool that can be hard to love.

It seems that a lot of attraction to certain studs can centre more on the studmaster than the sheep.

BRIAN Seaman is counting on your fleeces for the success of the wool section at this year's Royal Bathurst Show.

Please give him a call on 0428 373 828 for all the necessary details.

AS the dust settles from the state election, we see Gladys Berejiklian leading a third term Coalition government with a sound Lower House majority, and a Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party with three Lower House seats and its retained seat in the Legislative Council.

The Nationals have plenty of work to do as three of their heartland seats are now gone.

In the federal sphere, we must wonder if the hordes of ex-Nationals who voted SFF will now vote National in their federal seats.

I don't think many farmers will vote federal Labor, but the "Anyone but the Nats" slogan changed a lot of voters' minds in state country seats.

LITTLE Liam Seaman has a brand new brother named Oliver who should help him get up to mischief fairly soon.

Oliver is a little son for Tanielle Kerr and Connor Seaman, a grandson for Scott and Donna, and a great grandson for Brian and Lynne. Congratulations to all.

THE Central West Poll Dorset region held its biannual conference in Orange recently and the conference theme was "What will the terminal sire look like in 2019?".

Some keynote speakers made excellent points.

University of Melbourne vet science lecturer Dr Stuart Barber said: "We also need to keep the growth rates, but not end up being 250kg sheep."

Graham Gilmore from "Tattykeel" said: "Incredibly important is the ram and his progeny's conversion rate. How producers get that animal to perform on less feed, not more."

OFFERED for Auctions Plus sale on Tuesday of this week were 1020 top quality Afrino ewes, two and three year old, October shorn, mulesed, 100 per cent scanned in lamb to Suffolk rams.

The breed was developed by crossing South African Africaner sheep with Mutton Merinos in South Africa and stabilising the breed to constitute the Afrino breed.

Remember when merino wool specialists mentioned Comeback type wools in hushed tones? Now we must be careful to not judge any of the strange breeds.

THE increasing supply of drought-affected wools is contributing to the Northern Market Indicator losing ground.

The fine wools lost around 20c/kg and the medium wools lost around 5c/kg. The crossbred wools rallied again, gaining around 20c/kg.

While the market has slipped, the Northern Market Indicator is still 150c/kg better than this time last year.

The 17-micron and finer wools were dearer at this time last year by around 250c/kg, but all other micron categories are around 290c/kg better than the same period last year.

Next week will see 38,212 bales on offer nationwide.

"HI Nigel," the gorgeous young lady said as she slipped past in the crowded club.

"Who is that, Nigel?" his wife asked, frowning. 

"Please don't ask awkward questions, dear," he muttered, "I'll have enough trouble trying to explain who you are."

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ANOTHER young wife asked her friend: "Does your husband talk in his sleep?" 

"No, he just grins," the friend replied. "It's exasperating."

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A COWARD is one who, in a perilous emergency, thinks with his feet.